The Second Wives Club by Jane Moore (The Second Wives Club - Jane Moore)

Member Name: starjen

Product:	The Second Wives Club - Jane Moore
Date:	26/10/08 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Strong characters, amusing read

Disadvantages: None for me

I picked this book up when I was on a quick dash in and out the library and I don't really know why I picked it but I'm really glad I did as it was an excellent book.

The book is the story about four second wives. It starts off at Alison's wedding to Luca and they are at the reception when his ex-wife bursts in causing a scene and taking her and Luca's children home. Alison is obviously upset and although she knows there is no love lost between them had hoped that once they were married that things might change for the better and she could become part of Luca's children's lives, but she now wonders if this is just the way things are meant to be. Through this disaster though she finds an ally in Fiona who is the founding member of the Second wives club and who is also plagued by her husbands first wife. There are two other members of this club; Julia whose husband has stayed best friends with his ex-wife, much to her annoyance and Susan, who is a second partner to an angel.

They meet as often as possible to gossip and moan about their situations and see if they can come up with any solutions. We follow their lives as the ex-wives, kids and in-laws do their best to come between the marriages until the matters come their conclusions.

I wasn't really sure I was going to enjoy this book as I've never been married and don't have kids so thought I may miss the point, but I was so wrong. The four women characters are really strong and well written and I got so into the story that I read it at times when I wouldn't usually just because I wanted to find out what was going to happen to them all.

Alison is the newest member to the group and has just got married. She comes across as slightly naïve having rushed into the marriage thinking everything is going to be smelling of roses as soon as she has the ring on her finger. She goes to try and see the ex-wife to sort things out but it goes horribly wrong and you feel quite sorry for her. She also wants to have a baby with Luca but has fertility problems and you follow her through this journey.

Fiona has been married to her husband for a while and they have a little girl together, but it's her husband's teenage son Jake that causes the most problems in their relationship. When she gets home from Alison's wedding she finds Jake asleep while her baby daughter is in the bath trying to escape. They have a huge row and she ends up slapping Jake which in turn causes a row with her husband. You follow Fiona trying to build a relationship with her step-son and the problems this can cause.

Julia is a gorgeous woman who stole her husband from his first wife. She tries to be the perfect wife by always looking good, cooking gourmet meals and being a Goddess in the bedroom. But despite all this her husband continues to be great friends with his ex-wife and pops rounds for chats with her and even calls to let her know his is safe when they fly to New York. Julia decides to try and be friends with the Ex too to see if the change of tactic will rid of her of the ex-wife forever.

Susan is the last woman and she has known her partner and his wife since college. He had a child with his wife but she suddenly died when Milly was just a baby. Susan was great friends with them both and moved in after his wife's death to help look after them both and their relationship developed from there. The house though still has pictures everywhere of Caitlin and her parents visit a lot and Susan feels she will never live up to the exacting standards they expect. She feels taken for granted and wonders whether her partner really loves her or just has grown used to having her around.

I felt the characters were so well written and I really got to know them and after finishing it, was kind of disappointed because you want to find out what happens to them through the rest of lives. It was a good ending and not what I expected when I first started reading. The book was amusing and had funny moments but also you felt the wives frustrations and sadness when things weren't going so well.

I shall be looking out for more of Jane Moore's book and can highly recommend this one. I imagine if you've been a second wife in any of these situations it would be an even better read as you could relate more to the story though as I know from my parents experiences not all second marriages are this tumultuous (or maybe I don't as I am the child!).

Published by Arrow books.
Paperback 454 pages.

This has also been published on Ciao under same name.

Summary: Enjoyable story with strong, likeable characters